Best sci-fi TV character mistakes of all time

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

More My Favorite Martian character mistakes
Twin Peaks picture

Episode Sixteen - S2-E9

Character mistake: At the Roadhouse Cooper states that the second victim (Maddy) was found dead two days ago. It has been less than 24 hours since the body was found: he likely means she was murdered two days ago.

pinkwafer

More Twin Peaks character mistakes
Thunderbirds picture

Sun Probe - S1-E11

Character mistake: During the television report about the Sun Probe, a diagram shows the solarnauts' control cabin within the Probe Module. But we later see that the control cabin is within the body of the Probe Rocket when the Module is fired into the solar prominence.

More Thunderbirds character mistakes
Limitless picture

Stop Me Before I Hug Again - S1-E13

Character mistake: In Brian's "Laws I Have Broken Since Joining FBI" list, item #30 misspells the word "recorded" - "30) Recoreded NFL Game Without Consent." He'd only have that knowledge if he was using NZT, and if he was, he wouldn't make a mistake like that.

THGhost

More Limitless character mistakes
More Lost in Space character mistakes
The X-Files picture

Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose - S3-E4

Character mistake: Clyde Bruckman says that the Big Bopper won a coin toss that put him on the plane that crashed and killed him along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. The person who actually won the coin toss was Ritchie Valens.

More The X-Files character mistakes
Doctor Who picture

Rose - S1-E1

Character mistake: When Rose thinks Mickey is dead, she says she'll have to tell his mother. But in Rise of the Cybermen in Series 2, she says that Mickey's mother has been dead since he was a child.

MrMovieBuff

More Doctor Who character mistakes
More Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea character mistakes
More Red Dwarf character mistakes
Smallville picture

Tomb - S5-E14

Character mistake: While Clark and Chloe are at Daily Planet, Clark asks her what is wrong with her mother. Chloe responds that her mother left when she was twelve years old. In the episode Lineage, Chloe and Clark are looking for Rachael Dunleavy and Chloe says her mother left when she was five.

More Smallville character mistakes
The Orville picture

Old Wounds - S1-E1

Character mistake: After Mercer's speech to the entire crew he dismisses everyone except for the senior staff but everyone, including the senior staff, starts walking away as if they were dismissed as well.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: They were walking away, but not as if they were dismissed. The group of senior officers and Mercer are in a completely different part of the room (or possible an entirely different room). Notice the doorway where Mercer is standing. At the beginning, he's in the doorway and it has a white boarder and a 2nd set of doors. Then he's standing in front of a doorway with a blue boarder and no 2nd set of doors.

Bishop73

More The Orville character mistakes
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds picture

Strange New Worlds - S1-E1

Character mistake: The Enterprise is targeted by projectiles from the planet. Spock identifies them as "plasma torpedoes", and Captain Pike reacts with surprise; "Plasma torpedoes? That's 21st century tech" and from that they all establish that the civilization they contacted is not yet capable of warp drive. Plasma torpedoes are the main weaponry of the Romulans centuries later, and Earth itself did acquire warp drive in the 21st century, so this claim and deduction don't seem to add up. (00:22:15)

Sammo

More Star Trek: Strange New Worlds character mistakes
Knight Rider picture

Deadly Maneuvers - S1-E3

Character mistake: The sign in front of the tank Lt. Ladd is trapped in reads "ORDINANCE TESTING FIELD, DANGER.", but an ordinance is a type of decree or law. They probably meant 'ordnance', which is another word for artillery.

More Knight Rider character mistakes
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine picture

The Way of the Warrior (2) - S4-E2

Character mistake: During the Defiant's flight to save the Cardassian officials, Worf says something to the effect of, "I've never been aboard a Federation ship equipped with a cloak before". However, he was aboard the Enterprise during the Pegasus incident, where The Ship was temporarily equipped with a cloaking device.

More Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character mistakes
More 3rd Rock from the Sun character mistakes
Henry Danger picture

Dream Busters - S1-E19

Character mistake: When Charlotte is going into Henry's dream for the first time, while she is talking, in the background, you see Henry move his head and open his eyes.

More Henry Danger character mistakes
Star Trek: Picard picture

Remembrance - S1-E1

Character mistake: Picard and Data are playing poker at the beginning of the episode. Before the actual faces of the players are revealed, we are shown close-ups of their hands as they put down the chips for the bet. When Picard says his first line in the series it's "See", and it is literally true, because in the previous shot, Data put his 5 cards down on the table and face up. (00:00:50)

Sammo

More Star Trek: Picard character mistakes
The Mandalorian picture

Chapter 9: The Marshal - S2-E1

Character mistake: Cobb Vanth says that he's never seen anything but the dragon's head and had no idea about the size of the dragon...but at the beginning of the episode we could see the beast pass through town (conveniently right in the main road without damaging anything else) and its enormous lengthy body was perfectly noticeable. (00:31:20)

Sammo

More The Mandalorian character mistakes
The Dead Zone picture

Collision - S3-E3

Character mistake: When Johnny is at the hospital, having a vision of his mother, Gene Purdy and Sarah is waiting for news of him following his accident, he states that a vision earlier was related to his accident 'Nine years ago'. Later, when he is in the ambulance on the way to where his accident occurred, he asks the paramedic if it was the same ambulance. The paramedic replies, 'Yeah, I've been driving the same rig for nearly eight years'.

More The Dead Zone character mistakes
More Supergirl character mistakes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.